Amritsar: All parties and politicians talk about gender equality and provide maximum representation to women in politics, but the reality is still a handful of women representing a number of assembly constituents in the Majha Punjab area since 1951.
Shanno Devi and Parkash Kaur, both of them from Congress, have been active In the way the men’s domain in the 1950s.
At Amritsar West, Shanno Devi defeated Bhartiya Jan Sangh’s Parkash Chand by 8,420 votes.
After almost four decades, Vimla Dang CPI was selected from the Constituency of Central Amritsar in 1992, when he defeated the Commess Nominee SWA RAM.
Parkash Kaur won the Majitha Assembly seat by overcoming Harbans Singh and Parkash Singh in 1957 and 1962.
Since then, there are no candidates who won the Majitha seat.
Parkash also lost three times from Majitha – in 1967.1969 and 1980.
The constituency of Dinanagar has been represented by a woman on four occasions.
Once, Roop Rani BJP represents the election in 1997, and then the Congress Party of Aruna Chaudhary has represented the election in 2002.2012 and 2017.
The Constituency of the Central Assembly of Amritsar, is currently represented by Deputy Minister of OP Soni, has been represented by BJP Luxmi Kanta Chawla in 1992 , 1997 and 2007.
Assembly constituencies such as Qadian, Bhoa, Gurdaspur, Patti, Khadur Sahib, and Amritsar East have also been represented by Chararjit Kaur Bajwa, Seema Kumari, Susheel, R Kaur, Jaswant Kaur, and Navjot Kaur Sidhu, respectively .
Other assembly constituencies in Majha – including Pathankot, Batala, Sri Hargobindpur, Amritsar South, Ajnala, RajasiSi, Tarn Taran, Khemkaran, Attari, Baba Bakala and Amritsar North – have never been represented by any woman.
“Let the politician say anything; they are disguised misogynists in the community who do not want a woman in power,” said a MLA woman who did not want to give her name.
He added that women had to force their way up, fight with father, husband, and even son.
Women reach the campaign path for SSMAS women’s participation in farmers agitation on the Delhi border makes it look like a household movement, women have achieved traces of the election campaign in the same way for various constituents of Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM) along with their male colleagues.
Sarabjit Kaur, an activist Jamhuri Kisan Sabha (JKS), said the role of women was rather downlay in the farmer’s movement in Delhi, but the reality was a fighting woman against three in hand to work sideways beside their male colleagues.
“Now, we have the opportunity to make our place in the Punjab Assembly where we will be in a much better position to represent the cause of farmers and relieve their trouble.
So, why don’t we participate in the election campaign,” he said.